Cargo traffic at the port of Riga in January-October 2011 totaled 28.14 million tons, up 12.4% over the same period last year, the Port Authority said.
The ten-month throughput increase was driven largely by a 23.5-percent growth in crude oil transshipments, to 6.3 million tons (+1.2). The port demonstrated a 13.1 percent gain in the segment of bulk cargo. Year-to-date volume of coal handled at the port terminal has increased year-over-year by 15 percent to 11 million tons.
Shipments of fertilizer rose 21.9 percent from a year earlier, to 1.4 million tons. The Port Authority also reported an increase in the segment of grain, ferroalloys, building materials, scrap metal and sugar. The volume of handled peat, wood chips, metal was down from last year’s figure.
The ten-month volume of general cargo inched up 0.1% year-on-year, while containerized cargo traffic rose 19.1% to 2.6 million tons.
Riga port’s passenger traffic in the reporting period increased by 80,000 people to 740,420. The Port Authority expects to handle about 850,000 passengers by the end of the year.
Latvia-based Free Port of Riga lies on both banks of the River Daugava (Western Dvina), The port encompasses 6.348 hectares, including 13,818-meter waterfront with berths max depths of 16 meters (ship draft - 12.2 m). Transit cargoes account for 80 percent of total freight traffic moved to / from the CIS countries. In 2010, cargo throughput of the Port of Riga rose 2.5 percent year-over-year, to 30,475,000 tons.